Suzanne Kounkel, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Deloitte

Recap

The FCS closed out FCS MOVES 2023 with guest speaker Suzanne Kounkel, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Deloitte. The event was sponsored by Nativo, and Jordan Hyman, Nativo’s SVP of Sales, joined the event to interview Suzanne.

The discussion kicked off with the latest updates taking place at Deloitte and how its work reflects Deloitte’s aim to be a “purpose driven brand.” Specifically, this refers to how they’re making an impact that matters to their people, clients, communities, and the planet. Suzanne also touched upon the importance of trust, and how this factors into delivering great outcomes.

The discussion then moved to Suzanne’s point of view on elevating B2B marketing and the power of a purpose-driven and people-powered approach. She shared the unique dynamics of marketing in a B2B environment, and the importance that relationships play in this space, particularly given the complex selling environment in which Deloitte operates. This purpose-driven and people-powered approach plays a critical role in helping clients to understand who Deloitte is, how it works as a partner to drive significant outcomes, and the value it brings to strategic initiatives.

Suzanne shared how Deloitte is rethinking its brand offering, and the insights that went into developing Deloitte’s current and future value propositions, anchored in the outcomes it delivers for clients. Suzanne noted that a critical piece of this exercise was marketing’s collaboration with its business partners during the decision-making process to ensure alignment in the thinking and willingness to adopt the new brand narrative.

Suzanne detailed some of the ways she has seen the incremental adoption of Deloitte’s branding transformation. This includes the work being done through its partnerships with the WNBA as one example of its broader narrative on the support of professional women, which is one of its purpose-driven goals that extends beyond the services that Deloitte provides.

Lastly, Suzanne described her perspective on measuring results and the quantitative metrics that are used to gauge impact. She stressed the importance of expressing outcomes through the lens of how the marketing team’s work is positively impacting the broader firm’s strategic ambitions to drive business growth. She also shared that she has some exciting campaigns coming up in 2024 that people should keep an eye out for!

In appreciation of Suzanne’s participation, the FCS has made a $1,000 donation to BuildOn. The organization’s mission is to support access to education for girls and boys in parts of the world where there is a need through direct partnership with the local communities to empower them and provide the resources needed.

— Reported by Paul Patella, Digital Asset, FCS Board of Directors